The Christmas season is upon us! It’s the busiest time of the year for the hair and beauty industry and a great opportunity for a big revenue boost.
In fact, our data shows that revenue increases by over 10% in New Zealand and Australian salons, spas and clinics between the months of October and December!
The lead up to Christmas is hectic, but with a touch of preparation you can make this busy holiday season as enjoyable and profitable as possible.
Here are eight tips for making this Christmas period the most profitable one yet for your salon, spa or clinic.
1. Communicate with your clients
It’s easy to let things slip when you’re busy, so prior to the silly season make a plan to ensure you can keep in touch with your clients. Spend a little time setting up messages like appointment reminders and holiday greetings. These types of messages can easily be automated with your salon and spa software, like Kitomba, which will save you precious time.
Send an email newsletter to your clients in November to remind them to book early before the holiday rush. This is a good time to inform them of any holiday closures or extended hours, and you can also share any promotions or special service offerings, including reminding clients about your retail gifts and vouchers, which make for perfect Christmas gifts.
Learn how to create the perfect marketing email: The 10 elements of successful emails.
2. Create Christmas-themed content for social media
It’s always a good idea to decorate your salon, spa or clinic to get everyone in the Christmas mood.
Take it one step further this year and create a holiday themed selfie station. Find a blank wall, create a cool backdrop and fill a basket with fun props like sunglasses, frames and flowers. It’ll bring some joy into your salon and encourage your clients to share photos of their holiday-ready selves – that’s got to attract some new clients for the new year!
Why not have some fun and run a 12 days of Christmas campaign on social media leading up to the holidays? Offer something different each day – a giveaway, some Christmas treats, a holiday drink or a mini gift pack. It’s a great way to delight your clients in the lead up to Christmas as well as create great shareable content for your social media channels.
Read How to build your salon, spa or clinic’s brand on social media to find out more.
3. Promote the services your clients want
It’s the time of year where everyone wants to look fabulous for their work Christmas party or upcoming holiday, so focus your marketing efforts on promoting the services that’ll help them achieve just that.
Use your marketing channels, including social media and window displays, to promote express makeup for Christmas parties or focus on marketing your skin treatments so your clients can go makeup-free this summer. Put together packages with everything they need to look and feel great for the holidays.
4. Get ready to sell more retail
During the holiday season, clients spend more on retail than at any other time of the year. In fact according to our customer data, retail revenue jumps by 16% between October and December in New Zealand and Australia on average.
Make sure you’re ready for the Christmas rush and take advantage of the extra revenue you could make by ordering enough stock and packaging items into beautiful gift packs. Don’t forget mini gift packs too, they make great stocking stuffers and are easy for clients to grab from the counter as they’re paying.
5. Promote voucher sales
Vouchers make great Christmas gifts, so make sure you’re letting your clients know that you have them available. You can incentivise voucher sales and secure future income by offering your clients a bonus when they buy a voucher for a loved one. For example, with every $100 voucher they purchase, your client will receive a $10 voucher to use themselves.
Offering online vouchers makes it even easier for last minute Christmas shoppers. Read our top tips for how to sell more gift vouchers online.
6. Call in extra help
If possible, consider bringing in an extra pair of hands to help throughout December. Whether they’re answering the phone, accepting online bookings, taking payments, keeping the salon tidy, doing the washing, getting clients tea and coffee or all of the above. An extra person could really help take the pressure off, allowing you to focus on providing high quality service.
7. Make December fun
Your team might be dreading the busy Christmas period, so it’s important to make December fun! Have a decorating party with festive treats to get everyone in the Christmas spirit, run weekly competitions with prizes to keep everyone motivated, or plan a team event or Christmas party to celebrate everyone’s hard work.
8. Focus on filling your appointment book for the new year
Help your clients to maintain their fresh new look by incentivising new year bookings. You could put each client who makes an appointment to return in January or February into the draw to win a gift pack, or offer them a complimentary treatment. That way your clients will be organised well in advance and your appointment book will be in great shape to start the year in the right way!
Make this Christmas your most profitable one yet!
You can increase your revenue over the Christmas period while reducing stress by implementing any of the eight tips covered in this article.
To make sure your salon, spa or clinic is ready for Christmas, be sure to read 10 tips to getting ready for the Christmas season and take your Christmas marketing efforts to the next level with 5 marketing tips to kickstart your Christmas campaign.
Read next:
- 10 festive ways to wow your clients this Christmas
- Top tips for creating a Christmas season of success in your salon
- 5 Steps to make your Salon Rock this Christmas!
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on 11 November 2019 and has been updated for relevance and comprehensiveness.
